Interview with Kentaro Hisai

By David Rasmussen
1st Apr 07

Rasmussen : Hello, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Mr. Kentaro Hisai : Hi, my name is Kentaro Hisai. I’m the producer of Spectrobes.

Rasmussen : Could you tell us a little of more unknown about yourself, in other words, about your life before Kyoto Seika University. And, how you came to study Visual Communication Designs at that school?

Mr. Hisai : Of course I don’t remember it, but my parents tell me I started drawing before my first birthday and I suppose I’ve been doing it ever since.

When I turned ten, I became interested in plays, stage art, movie production, and other such performing arts. The high school I attended was art-centric and that’s when I began to study art in earnest. Some related major in college was a no brainer for me and ultimately I selected Visual Communication and Design as my major. The idea of communicating ideas via the eyes is what interested me most in that subject. I found it intriguing that while I was only able to verbally speak Japanese, through clever pictures, drawings, and other visuals, I was able to effectively communicate ideas with great detail to a great many people.

So I guess that’s how I got here. I wanted to create things as well as communicate with all sort of people and that’s what Visual Communication is.

Rasmussen : Tell us a bit about your experiences at Kyoto Seika University’s Design Dept. What did you learn there that applies to your present job.

Mr. Hisai : I supposed as I mentioned before, I learned how to convey ideas to others with simple non-verbal communication techniques. I also learned how to present these ideas in simple methods that are easy to grasp.

As a game producer, one of my responsibilities is to clearly and effectively show the rest of the production team the new ideas and features for implementation so that they can get on board quickly and so that everybody is on the same page. To this end, good communication is so incredibly important. It can make or break the final project. On I daily basis I use graphic design and visual communication to make sure everybody on the team understands the big picture.

Rasmussen : Take us back to 1994 when you first joined Konami as an artist. What was that like, and what kind of work did you do that you might not have received enough recognition for considering the amount of work you put into said project or title?

Mr. Hisai : The artist role in game production is to take care of all of the visual elements including and not limited to the character designs, background designs, user interface and animation – it’s a great deal of work. Then, the artists have to work closely with the game director, game designers, and programmers to produce titles on time while always maintaining a balance between art and technology.

To date, there’s never been a project where I felt I didn’t get recognition or appropriate praise for my efforts. Maybe I’ve just been very lucky, who knows?

Rasmussen : “RAKUGAKIDS” for the N64 (one of your works from the past). Did it ever release in an English speaking market (for those of us not familiar with the title)?

Mr. Hisai : Sure, the English name of that title is just as you stated it, simply RAKUGAKIDS. The title was released in Europe and I’m pretty sure it was localized into four languages.

Rasmussen : Your work as director for “MYSTIC NINJYA GOEMON” and “REMOTE CONTROL DANDY SF” for the PS2. How did working on that as a director differ from your work as art director for RAKUGAKIDS three years earlier?

Mr. Hisai : I don’t thing there were any huge differences in the two titles I had on those projects. However, I will say that the experiences I got working on RAKUDAKIDS most definitely improved and tempered my job skills and made me a much better director on MYSTIC NINJA GOEMON and REMOTE CONTROL DANDY SF. Further, the experience I got on all three of these projects most definitely helped me through the Spectrobes process.

Rasmussen : For those not familiar with the work of a producer, what kind of work is entailed being in charge of product planning and production, and also how does this work compare to the workload you carried first as an Art Director and then later as a Director?

Mr. Hisai : I think that proper product design and production entails completely building out and developing and great game within the time allotted, of course on budget, and then assisting all related departments in making the title succeed in the marketplace.

There’s simply just a great deal of difference in art directors, game directors, and producers. Overall, we’re all professionals with a love of games. I suppose what I mean all three of those professionals know the basic roles of the others. It’s all about making fun and compelling games, exciting people, making players enjoy themselves. That’s the fundamental core responsibility of three roles you mention.

Rasmussen : It is said you have produced about 20 original titles. If you were to narrow down a specific genre that you have worked the most on what would it be (RPG, Sports, Platforming, etc)? Also have you found out that working on specific games have turned you off from said games yourself? (I.e. you’ve done so many RPGs that you yourself acutally would never want to play RPGs yourself, for example)?

Mr. Hisai : Sorry, I can’t narrow down a specific genre because there have been so many. Further, because I’ve generally been charged with the visual aspects of these titles, there hasn’t been one that I’ve not enjoyed working on. As for a genre that I’d rather not work on in the future, well, I have one, but I’m going to keep it secret. However, I think if you look over most of the titles and genres that I’ve worked on in the past, you might be able to figure out which one I’m talking about…

Rasmussen : Working alongside Disney on game projects. How much control does Disney wield over these projects? Do they allow for any spontaneous creative influence by the game makers to injerject ideas or creativeness into the games, or is their control over the creative process all dominating and all constrictive?

Mr. Hisai : Essentially, Disney is always searching for new compelling and exciting entertainment ideas. But, one of the things that sets them apart in a very positive way is that they have a wonderful atmosphere in which to foster these ideas and a staff with the enthusiasm to grow them.

Rasmussen : Tell us abit about your latest project if you can, mainly Kaseki Cho Shinka Spectrobes (what I’ve been told will be entited simply “Spectrobes” for it’s english translated Nintendo DS launch here on this side of the world).

Mr. Hisai : Spectrobes is an RPG action game exclusively for the Nintendo DS. It’s a creature collection game in which the player awakens, trains, and does real time action battles with over 500 cool creatures.

Spectrobes is the first game with original contents by Disney Interactive Studios meaning that the character designs and story were created anew specifically for the game. It’s a very important title

This is a pretty important milestone for Disney Interactive Studios as it’s the first time Disney has introduced a new property via a means other than a movie or animated television series.

Production was done in Japan and contents were completely created by Disney Interactive Studios Japan. This point shows through in the Japanese anime style the game possesses. Jupiter, the same developer that did Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memory (GBA), developed the title.

Rasmussen : What is the story of Spectrobes? And can you tell us a little about the character(s) that players will be controlling in the game?

Mr. Hisai : The main character is Rallen, a young officer with the Nanairo Planetary Patrol or NPP. There’s also Jeena and Aldous.

As for the story, one day Rallen and Jeena pick up a strange signal on their radar while patrolling Nanairo system. When they arrive at the source of the signal, they find Aldous in coldsleep in an escape pod the likes of which they’ve never laid eyes on before. Aldous informs them that an evil demon scourge known only as the Krawl have attacked his star system and that he’s come in search of Spectrobes, rumored to be the only known defense against Krawl. Aldous also warns the two that if the Krawl haven’t already, they’ll most likely invade Nanairo soon. However, in the Nanairo system, Spectrobes are mere fossils, much like we’d think of dinosaurs today. So, Aldous teaches Rallen (the player) and Jeena how to locate these fossils, bring them back to life, grow them and train them into formidable creatures that can take on the oncoming Krawl!

Rasmussen : Can you tell us abit about the touch screen functionality of the game? How will it intergrate with the gameplay without causing any difficulty with player control during gameplay?

Mr. Hisai : Wow, that’s a big one. First players have to use the touch pen to locate fossils. Then, they must also use the touch screen and stylus to excavate and pull them from the ground as cleanly and skillfully as possible (this makes for better creatures in the game). excavate the fossils by touch screen. We basically designed the majority of the game with the touch screen in mind to make for a more intuitive and smooth interface and gameplay. Of course we utilized button controls as well, but there’s a lot of features that just wouldn’t have been possible without the touch screen (and other new functionality of the DS). One other touch screen feature I should touch on is the card input system. Players must place the cards over the touch screen and then input a sequence indicated on the face of the card. Upon doing so, the creature shown on the card will be introduced into the game.

Rasmussen : I heard Spectrobes is going to be an RPG. How does Spectrobes RPG elements differ it from other RPGs out there on the handhelds right now (on both the Nintendo DS and PSP)? Also how does Spectrobes avoids the pitfalls that seperates a good RPG from a bad one? How does it fair on playability (and thus replayability), avoiding repetitive gameplay or plots that are either meager or faulty in story content?

Mr. Hisai : Spectrobes has a whole host of original new features that have never been seen in other RPG games. I basically believe that there are two types of RPG game. In one, a player primarily follows a story and in the other, a player is primarily charged with getting as strong as possible. Spectrobes has combined these two aspects. It has a fascinating and engaging storyline and requires the powering up of not only the main character, but supporting creatures as well.

Rasmussen : Not everyone was enchanted with George Lucas’ Pre-Trilogy of Star Wars movies, seeing how he is one of your favorites in terms of Sci-Fi talents what is your opinion of the Pre-Trilogy critics in comparison to the classic original Star Wars trilogy, and have you played any of Lucas’ Star Wars related games?

Mr. Hisai : Oh… That’s a really tough question… I suppose I was most influenced by the original Star Wars Trilogy. I was impressed that it melded classic fantasy elements into a science fiction world. No other film had yet done so. I saw these films when I was about ten years old and I can’t say precisely how many ways I was influenced by them.

After the original trilogy was released, I’m sure every fan had a load of expectations about how the future of the franchise should unfold. And naturally, I’m sure that some of those expectations were not met. But for ten year olds that were introduced to the franchise via the pre-trilogy, who knows, maybe those kids felt the same impact that original fans felt when they saw the first films years ago.

As for the games I’ve played, I was a huge Lego Star Wars fan. I think one of my favorite recollections was seeing the Finger Star Wars video.

Rasmussen : Cool. I love LEGO Star Wars… (-_-)… uh, sorry about that… anyway for our readers who may not know the works of Kow Yokoyama can you tell us abit about those works, and how they came to influence your own work in turn?

Mr. Hisai : For me, Kow Yokoyama is the quintessential Japanese sci-fi visual artist. He’s created numerous movies, television commercials, plastic models, and game character designs. Probably his most important work is Maschinen Krieger released some twenty years ago. It still today has so many fans all over the globe. He’s been my guru for as long as I can remember.

I was so incredibly lucky to get to work with him on REMOTE CONTROL DANDY SF, one of the title I worked on at Konami as mechanical design supervisor. I can’t emphasize enough how much I respect this guy. He once said to me, “If a creator has fun creating something, the audience will have fun with it too.” This has been my motto from that point on whenever approaching the creative process. I still keep in touch with him today.

Rasmussen : The past on and off again basketbrawls that has marred the sport in terms of US Basketball of late, in your opinion as a basketball fan is this as bad a thing as the media outlets have made it out to be? Also as per basketball video games is there any games you particularly like (and recommend to others who may be new to the whole basketball genre?)

Mr. Hisai : I’ve been so busy with game production recently that I haven’t really had much time to watch basketball. But, I’ll say that I don’t think the court should ever be turned into a boxing ring. While it is a form of entertainment, it’s first and foremost a professional support. The entertainment aspect of professional sports should be exceptional sports skills, not brawls. As for basketball games, I like to play a variety of them, but when it comes to this sport, I’d say get outside and put the ball in the hoop.

Rasmussen : A day in your life, tell us about a typical day of work for you?

Mr. Hisai : I’m usually at the office from around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. First, I check my mail. Next, it’s usually internal meetings. After lunch, I get into the actual production work which consists mainly of communicating with developers, designers, and other related producers. This period also entails a lot of report generation, artwork design and revision, and design feedback. I generally head home between 8:00 and 10:00 at night.

Rasmussen : 2007. What do you have planned for us this coming year in terms of future releases or works you are presently working on (that you can tell us about)?

Mr. Hisai : Sorry, there’s just not much I can elaborate on right now. Hopefully I’ll be able to speak more freely about some of the cool stuff we’re doing in the not too far off future.

Rasmussen : Understood. Any final words for our readers?

Mr. Hisai : I’d like to emphasize Spectrobes, it’s such a fun game and I’d like everybody to give it a try. Check out the webisodes at Spectrobes.com and get educated on the characters and back story. We’re sure that it’s going to evolve (no pun intended – laughs) into a big hit. I’m really proud of the game and I hope you like it – that’s why I made it!

-- David Rasmussen 1st Apr 07